Crime Companions
by hyukayaa
Summary: Following a lengthy conference about a new serial killer on the loose, Yagami Light is assigned to L's task force, alongside Amane Misa and the strange Ryuuzaki. mau. l/light
1. The Conference

Of the fifteen people crowded in the small conference room, Light couldn't help but feel like he was the most qualified to currently be sitting their. Representing Kanto, he was the youngest present, if you didn't count the blonde woman sitting to his left, meticulously filing her nails over her information packet.

Light had arrived early in Tokyo, checked in to the conference room with his flimsy nametag, read through his info packet, and had introduced himself to everyone as they had walked in. Since the case was so large, the conference yielded to the subdivisions of Japan as well, which is why he would guess he was currently crowded between a middle aged man from Tohoku and the blonde from Nanpo Islands.

Light tapped his pencil against his paper, awaiting for the conference to start. Some of the older detectives were crowded over in a small group, talking loudly about families and old cases. Light doubted any of them could really help with their current case, considering it had stumped even the best of the best so far. Which is probably why they were currently all grouped in a stifling room with old chairs.

"Gosh, I wish they would just start, everyone is already here," The girl next to him said. She was one of the few people he hadn't bothered to introduce himself to. She stowed her nail file away in what looked like a makeup bag. "Sorry, I don't think I've introduced myself, I'm Amane Misa."

He's sure he's heard the name before, but he just repeats back his own name rather than contemplate it.

Someone near the front of the room clears their throat. "We'd like attention now," He states. The door to the room is closed, making the room suddenly seem much more claustrophobic than it was a few moments ago. Light shrugs off his jacket, hanging it over his chair and prepares himself for a boring, and ultimately, wasteful conference.

Since the conference is on the smaller side, there are few interruptions, and they manage to begin the first half of it with little issues. Light tunes them out as they simply review the case file and what they currently have in their possession, detailing the serial killer that had been haunting Japan for nearly seven months now.

Light could recite the case file in his sleep by now. His precinct had been the fifth to end up with it on their laps, and as the best detective on the force he had been in charge of taking care of it.

Unfortunately, for the most part, it had been a terrible flop. By the time he and his force had readjusted, the killer had already moved from Kanto to Chubū.

The case file detailed the following: the presumed sightings of the killer, which had so far been referred to as a serial number rather than a nickname. He struck at night, paid in cash, and had a completely unmemorable face and body, as police sketches varied from region to region. Along with this, each of his victims were young women in their early twenties, and each and everyone of them had their fore fingers cut from them and kept.

Light couldn't believe that a serial killer who literally kept trophies still managed to elude their grasp.

He flips the packet to the next page, just as someone knocks on the door to the conference. There's a few whispers, but the man at the front if the room answers it, and the most peculiar person Light has ever seen walks in.

"It's cold out," The man states, shedding a dark green coat off. His hair is wild, unbrushed, and full of snow. He hangs his jacket on a hook as if everyone in the room wasn't currently staring at him.

"Sir," one of the men in the front start. "I'm afraid you have the wrong room, this is an investigative conference."

"Yes, of course." There's some shuffling and the wild haired man pulls a badge from his coat. It's then that Light notices he's not wearing any shoes. "I'm Ryuuzaki, representing the Kanto region."

There's some skeptical looks. Light isn't sure if it's the man's haggard appearance or the fact that he's late despite being in the _Kanto_ region that are making the men suspicious. If Light himself weren't the detective representing the current region, he probably would have brushed the man off as simply weird and late. Instead he feels discomfort coil in his gut, because something is obviously _wrong._

Nevertheless, he doesn't bother to voice his opinion, and Ryuuzaki is allowed to sit. He sits in the back, and it takes everything in him to not turn around and observe the strange man who interrupted the conference.

The next half of the conference continues without any interruptions, Amane diligently takes notes beside him, and he wonders if he should do the same. He could probably completely parrot back everything the man has been saying if he cared to, so he forgoes his pen to simply stare out the window.

At some point, a few of the detectives stand to get coffee, and Light is half tempted to follow them if the next sentence out of the director's mouth didn't immediately catch his attention.

"As of last night, we received word that the detective, _L_ , would be joining us on this case. He's apparently become very interested in it, and wishes for us to gather three of those that we believe are the best of the current detectives present to put on his own private task force."

Light straightens up in his chair. Glancing at the room, there's a three in sixteen chance he'll be picked, and with four gone to coffee, his odds raised to three in twelve. His eyes rake the room, and realized with a sinking feeling that nearly everyone in the room has at least ten years experience on him. Even Ryuuzaki, who is stacking water cups on his table, looks nearly thirty at the very least.

"Any volunteers?" The man asks, and there's grumbling and few people raise their hand, Light and Amane included. Light can't help but notice that Ryuuzaki does not, instead focusing on his water cup tower. He wonders briefly if he really was in the wrong conference hall and was simply too embarrassed to get up and walk out now.

Light calculates his percentage of being picked to now be roughly three in five, but the man in the front surprises him by calling on Ryuuzaki first.

"Ryuuzaki, you were that guy who caught that one guy, _Kira_ , right? The guy that wrote the names of everyone he ever killed in a notebook?"

"Yeah," Ryuuzaki replies. He sounds bored out of his mind, as if the Kira case that plagued Japan for nearly two years had been a walk in the park. Light could still remember it, since he had been finishing his last year of secondary school when those killings started.

"Why don't we assign you to L's task force then?"

Ryuuzaki pauses his cup stacking. "If you like to, I won't complain."

"Excellent. Then, Amane?"

The blonde next to him vigorously nodded her head in agreement, and he wasn't sure if the old man picked her because of her looks or her abilities. She was certainly good at filing her nails, at the very least.

 _He has to pick me next,_ Light assured himself. He glared at the elder man from Hokkaido, resisting the temptation to swing his hand around to capture the director's attention.

Instead the director turns to a man from the Shikoku region. "Ito-"

"Actually," Ryuuzaki says, standing up. "I believe the best choice for a third member would be Yagami Light. Yagami is arguably the smartest here, and has a different style to case work than me and Amane."

If Ryuuzaki didn't look like an absolute hobo, Light probably would have hugged him. He wonders what precinct he was from so he could send him a card and a fruit basket as soon as possible.

"Well, okay," The director says, clearly uncomfortable with Ryuuzaki's input. "Amane, Ryuuzaki, and Yagami."

After that, the men from before shuffle back into the room, carrying their coffees, and the conference resumes. Amane pokes him, probably in a friendly manner, but it still annoys him.

Finally, _finally,_ the director turns to the third page and glances down at his watch. "Let's take a lunch break and then continue this discussion. Meet back here at thirteen hundred."


	2. Team Trio

Before Light could stand to go venture out some food, or more likely, a cup of old coffee, Amane poked his side, smiling shyly at him. "Hey, since we're going to be working together from now on, you wanna go to lunch together?"

He glanced back at Ryuuzaki, wondering if they should extend the invitation to him as well. He had been the one to suggest adding Light to the case. The ungroomed man was licking the tin foil seal from a yogurt, and their eyes met for a second and Light quickly returned his attention to Amane.

"Yeah, sure, it probably beats old coffee."

"Of course it does," Amane says. She pulls her purse on up over her shoulder, and smiles wide. It's then that he takes in the entirety of her appearance - bleached blonde hair, sparkling eyes, a perfect hourglass figure. Everything from her meticulously painted nails to the dark lipstick suddenly made him realize who she was.

"You're Misa-Misa, aren't you?" He asked. "The model?"

Amane smiles. "And here I was hoping no one would notice."

"You're in a room full of detectives. I'm sure at least half of them have daughters who wanted to be you."

"And yet, you're the only one to have said anything," Misa replies. She begins scrolling through her phone as she walks, partially ignoring him. "Besides, I'm not a model anymore, so there's no reason to refer to me by that name."

Light hums in agreement, and they walk side by side in relative silence - Misa scrolling through her phone, and Light observing his surroundings. Since the conference room was on the second floor of the West building, there was a long walk back to the entrance, and multiple things to keep him occupied. From the high ceilings to the wide windows, Light drank in everything the building provided, already mapping it out in his head, for future purposes.

It wasn't until they crossed over from the West building to the East that Light realized they were being followed. He wasn't sure if Misa had picked up on it, absorbed in a fashion article. Trying not to be so obvious, he glanced behind him, finding Ryuuzaki trailing behind them, hands stuffed in his pockets, and stepping on the cuffs of his oversized jeans.

Light let out a sigh. He shouldn't have been so wary, it was entirely possible that Ryuuzaki was just following him because he was going out to eat as well, although he had been licking yogurt from a cup before they left. He has no reason to believe Ryuuzaki was being a creep, and he didn't necessarily need to believe that they needed to include him, either. He hadn't said a word to him, and Light wasn't going to the one to start the conversation.

That didn't stop Misa, however. "Oh, Ryuuzaki, I hadn't even noticed you there! Are you going out for lunch too?"

"I am."

"Would you like to join us?" Misa asked. Light didn't want to be the one to tell her that he didn't want to dine with Ryuuzaki, especially over something so shallow as the man's appearance, so he hoped that at the very least Ryuuzaki could sense the discomfort brewing in Light and would turn Misa down.

"I would enjoy that very much, where are you two headed?" Ryuuzaki asked. Light cursed Misa and the awful man. He trailed behind them a bit, still listening to the conversation, but pretending to be interested in his phone rather than converse with the two of them.

"I was thinking the ramen shop I saw on my way here, it's pretty close. Do you like ramen, Light?"

It takes him almost a full minute to realize that Misa is looking at him, expecting an answer. He simply nods, allowing Misa to lead them to the entrance. As they approach it, he wonders if Ryuuzaki's feet would be cold, since he was very obviously not wearing shoes early. It was only snowing a little now, but it was still awfully cold, especially on cement sidewalks. Perhaps Ryuuzaki really was a hobo who had walked into the wrong room.

But then, why would the director call on him to assign him to L's case? And cite him as the detective who solved the Kira case? Staring at the back of Ryuuzaki's head, Light couldn't help but wonder what exactly the man was keeping from them. No one so weird and detached could possibly be a detective, could they?

They arrive at the ramen shop, and sit around a table near the back. Light assumes Misa picks it for the privacy, but Ryuuzaki perches himself in the chair on his feet, leaning forward like a gargoyle. Light is too shocked to even tell him off, and Misa only stifles a laugh.

"You weren't sitting like that in conference room!" Light says. He tries to restrain himself from yelling and making a bigger scene. Surely Ryuuzaki was just messing with him now, simply seeing how uncomfortable he could possibly make him.

"Of course not, I didn't need to use my deductive skills in that morning conference."

"And you need to use them in a ramen shop?"

Ryuuzaki nods, his facial expression giving away nothing. When a waitress comes to ask for their orders, he orders Green Matcha ice cream and a sweet tea. Misa orders for both her and Light, handing the menus back to the young woman.

"I figured the reason the two of you went off together was to discuss the case, so of course I followed," Ryuuzaki explained. He took a sip of the drink the waitress brought, watching her set coffee in front of Light, and a lemonade for Misa. "Was I incorrect?"

Misa pursed her lips. "Well, we can't really discuss it without _L,_ we are on _his_ task force after all."

"Oh, well, I'm L," Ryuuzaki replies in a deadpan voice. He stares blankly at Light, as if tempting him to challenge his statement.

Light quickly rises to it. "No, you're not. I've seen L in press conferences, you look absolutely nothing like him." He looks towards Misa, hoping she is in agreement with him, but she seems thoughtful to Ryuuzaki.

Ryuuzaki waves Light's off. "He is a figurehead to ensure my safety. I have several aliases, and several people who pose as each of them, it's how I manage to avoid dying."

"I don't believe you for a second," Light says.

"Well, then how would we know you're the real L, and not some model? Or a fake alias to make us believe that we are in safety and only being lured toward a trap?" Misa asks.

He sighs, looking bored at the two other detectives, and then slowly takes another sip of his tea again. "There's nothing I could say to convince you - my real name is Lawliet, my alias is L, Mihael Keehl acts as the man behind L. Ryuuzaki is a simple detective stationed in Kawasaki, who I use as a fourth alias to throw assassins off."

"A fourth-?" Light started, bemused. Who needed upwards of four aliases?

Misa bit her lip. "Suppose we believe you-" Light glared at her. "Why would you allow yourself to be chosen for a task force assigned to L?"

"Simple - there was no third member that could be a stronger detective than myself."

Their food arrives, and Ryuuzaki picks up a spoon and immediately digs into his ice cream, caring little for how disgusted the other two are. "So, what do you say - ready to be part of my group?"

Misa nods vigorously. Light would bet money should would have believed Ryuuzaki even if he hadn't provided all the info he had.

"Light?"

He sighs, like it hurting him, and then gives a short nod.


End file.
